So here we are again, folks. Another month has flown by in the blink of an eye and as we bid a fond farewell to warm days (well, let’s face it, burning hot days) and light nights and thoughts wander to getting the heating on (if you can afford to do that!), drawing the curtains and settling into hibernation mode. What better way to do that than with a wee tipple of your favourite dram? It might be a bit rubbish saying goodbye to summer, but on the plus side we are getting back to classic whisky weather. That said, I don’t remember depriving myself a dram or two during summer! So what have we been up to over the last four weeks, I hear you ask? Same old, same old here at Dràm Mòr HQ, which means busy, busy, busy.
News
Firstly, and most importantly was the release of our Autumn 2022 outturn, which has been working its way around the world over the last 4 weeks. We have been blown away with how well this release has been received to date and as with previous releases these bottles are not lasting too long on the shelves. Bit by bit we have started to build a bit more of a UK footprint with specially selected boutique shops and established on trade venues across the country now stocking Dràm Mòr stock. This is something the we had looked to do this year and although we have a long way to go with this, we are at least able to make sure that no matter where in the country you might be, you will be able to get your hands on a bottle or two. We have been careful to make sure that most (if not all) of our off-trade partners have strong on line platforms, so your next Dràm Mòr bottle is only a few clicks on the keyboard away. If you are ever in doubt to where you can shop please click on www.drammorgroup.com and you can find a full list of all our stockists.
In other news from September it was lovely to welcome our great friend Oren Zohar from Alphabet Whisky in Israel during his latest tour of Scotland. Oren as many of you will know is not only an independent bottler in his own right, but also our distributor in the land of Milk and Honey (literally). I was looking for somewhere to meet up in Edinburgh, which is not a place I know too well, so where better than a flagship site so it was off The Jonnie Walker Experience roof top bar. Now as many of you know Mr. Walkers drams are not necessarily on the top of my “go to” list, but what a venue! With stunning views across the city centre and an outdoor terrace it really is some place. Be warned, however, so are the prices, so I would advise a visit but make sure you have deep pockets. On another note, our Autumn Release is on its way to Tel Aviv as we speak.
With life returning to normal and travel back on the agenda I have been bobbing about Poland for a good few days this month taking in Jasztrebia Gora, Warsaw and Poznan. As things stand we are still on the look out for the right partners for this wonderful country but we are definitely getting much closer to working with the very folk that I have been holding out for so watch this space and to all my friends in Poland, I hope that you will be seeing the name of Dràm Mòr on the shelves over there pretty soon.
Events
Due to our new release, the focus has mainly been on distribution and making sure bottles Reach bars and shops, but we managed to squeeze a few tastings in so let’s take a look. First up was one very close to home. In fact, it was for our own Mòr Whisky Club, which has been running out of the wonderful bar that is Orán Mòr in the West End of Glasgow for over 8 years now and every now and again I have the pleasure of standing up in front of all our members and presenting our own drams. On the night we had 7 drams parting from the classic 6 dram line up. Now it has to be said that at the end of a 7 dram, cask strength line up we had a few walking wounded, but what a night it was. We had a surprise winner on the night and I was delighted that it was a throw back to a few releases ago that took the prize for dram of the night with Invergordon 24 year old coming out on top despite some very stiff competition. It isn’t to often that a single grain gets the attention that I am firmly of the belief they deserve, so I was a very happy lad to be able to crown this bottle is number one on the night. A big thanks to all in the Mòr Whisky Club for their continuing support and I look forward to our next session. Next up we wing our way across the channel to Belgium, where the enigmatic Whisky Mercenary, Mr Jürgen Vromans took our Blair Athol 10 year old for a spin along with a few other indy bottling. As things stand I have no idea which dram won the night at this event but as I am flying out to Belgium first thing tomorrow morning I can have a chat with the man himself and see how we were placed. One thing I can say with some confidence, pretty sure we would have done well. There will be more to report next month for sure as October kicks off with the Gent Whisky Festival, but that’s for another time.
With the new release just out, first review in September came from Alexandru of the Rum Barrel who was kind enough to write a glowing report on our 15 year old Foursquare that we released back in Summer as a fund raiser for a Yellow and Blue charity based in Vilnius, Lithuania, who support Ukraine’s fight for freedom. This was the fastest selling bottle that we have ever released and here you can see what Alexandru thought of it here.
Our second review this month sees the return of an old friend on not one but two counts as its another serial contributor in the shape of Whisky Fun and Angus MacRaild, but it’s an old bottling that he is sampling, the Dumbarton 20 year old from our Spring 2021 release. I wish I still had a bottle of this as just reading about it made me remember how much I had enjoyed this dram. Loved Angus comments summarising the tasting notes” “Really fine.” Totally agree!
One more for this month and it is another old pal who I hope to be sharing a dram with this coming weekend and its over to Menno Greet of Man with a Malty Mission who has taken time to review the entire Summer release, so there’s a bit of work in this review and we can’t thank him enough for taking the time to explore this release. Thanks mate! Lastly, We also took part in a broader interview-review with Dramface on the Future of the Independent Bottlers that at the moment is experiencing some strain. Read the full article here.
Social Media
As always I will tie things off. For September with a look back at what you, Lads and Lassies, though of our humble offerings by taking a stroll through the pages of Facebook, Instagram and every other platform imaginable. My big issue is trying to work out what came from where (such is the joys of old age!). First up and fastest out the blocks for September saw Whisky Lovers on Instagram lavishing praise on our Glenglassaugh 6 year old from the Summer release. A sherry bomb in all but body as it had all the flavour you would expect from such an active Oloroso cask, but still managed to retain the Glenglassaugh still which made this one special. Glad the Whisky Lovers agreed!
Fast on the heels of our Instagramers was Seb from one of our retail partners Cut Your Wolf Lose in Brighton, who just had to dive head first into an 8 year old Ben Nevis (and who could blame him, Ben Nevis never lets you down). It was back to Glenglassaugh for our next desk jokey and down to the big smoke of London and the very simply named @drinkswithfriends (great name!). Well this group of friends sure know how to pick a dram! A wee message popped up from our mates in Belgium to let the world know that at long last our Summer release had finally made there way to Jürgens Whiskyhuis, but in fairness I have a feeling that they might taste even better in the autumn, so if you have the ability to get your hands on a bottle or two and are that side of the water, well you know what to do. Our new pals from Drams and Drips over even more water and it’s off to Canada where the guy shave been banging the drum for an event they have coming up on the 14th of October, where they will have the arduous task of sampling 6 of our whiskies and two of our rums. Good luck getting out of bed on Saturday morning after this one, folks.
We are jumping about a bit this month virtually, but its back to Belgium and the Bonding Dram who had the privilege of getting their hands on our oldest rum to date which was the lost distillery (and impossible to pronounce) Uitvlugt. Its pronounce “Ayefloot” would you believe and not only is it an incredibly good rum but it will earn you a fortune in a game of scrabble! Thanks for taking the time to let us know your thoughts and we are delighted that it hit the spot. Willy Minne was lucky enough to find himself in the world famous Pot Still (oh, the hardship Willy!), where he stumbled upon our second release from the baby that is Dalmunach. I love this spirit and it is a pleasure to work with and it would seem that Willy was in agreement giving it a 10/10. Many thanks, my friend, and I hope that over the years we can bring you many other dram of interest. Now we are moving down the road to Nottingham and the cultured palate of Mr. Chris Williams. Chris and I had the good fortune of bumping into each other during my last visit to London and the Whisky Mecca that is Milroy’s of Soho. For those of you who have ever been in Milroy’s you will know that ‘bumped into’ actually means what it says as its not the biggest bar in the world, but well worth a visit. Well, Chris, and I chewed the fat for a wee while and I am delighted to see that he has managed to track us down and had a wee look at the 9 year old Glenrothes that he got form the House of Malt, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Great to have you on board, mate, and please remember, give me a shout when you’re heading up then road next time. One more for this month and its over to the Friends of Deanston. Now I wonder what they might have had a wee look at? Yup, it’s a 13 yo Deanston for them and looks like it made some friends and as these guys know their Deanstons I am over the moon to see that it worked for you.
As always there are many more of you out there that have been kind enough to post about us over the last month and please accept my apologies, if I have missed you out this time, but many many thanks for being kind enough to share your thoughts with everyone out there. Well, that was September. A busy enough month behind the scenes and with whisky festival time kicking in there are lots of busy days ahead so it’s time for me to pack and get my backside on the road again. As always, folks, Viktorija and I appreciate all the love that is sent Dràm Mòr’s way and we are always humbled by the kind words, which are used to describe our drams. We can never really put into words what it means to us but I can certainly say “ta very much” for everything. It’s a pleasure having you all on board with us. Until the next time, play nicely, be safe and raise a glass to those who can’t raise one any more.
Slàinte!
Kenny
